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PublishedSeptember 21, 2022
Citing emergency, Maine’s legal service for the poor requests $13.3 million
Faced with a dwindling roster of attorneys, the Maine Commission on Indigent Legal Services wants to increase the hourly rate from $80 to $150 for lawyers who agree to represent low-income Mainers.
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PublishedAugust 30, 2022
Commentary: Lawyers are to be blamed for lack of access to justice in Maine
It’s not that attorneys don’t want to represent low-income clients – it’s that we’ve made it impossible for each other to do so.
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PublishedAugust 28, 2022
Our View: No longer just a crisis but an indefensible failure
The more we neglect legal representation for people who can’t pay for it, the more painful the cost – social and financial – to the state of Maine.
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PublishedAugust 23, 2022
Maine reaches ‘point of failure,’ seeks $62.1 million for indigent public defense
Lawmakers are asked to more than double state spending on poor, criminal defendants.
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PublishedJuly 18, 2022
Judge approves class-action status for Maine indigent legal services lawsuit
The ruling means the ACLU suit against the state will have more than 5,800 defendants instead of just 5.
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PublishedJuly 1, 2022
More than 20 criminal defendants in Aroostook spent weeks without counsel, draft memo notes
The memo from the Maine Commission on Indigent Legal Services says 23 people whose requests for legal help were granted by a judge spent an average of about 60 days waiting for an attorney.
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PublishedJune 6, 2022
Judge rules that lawsuit against state indigent legal services can proceed
The lawsuit filed by the ACLU of Maine states that the Maine Commission on Indigent Legal Services is not upholding its duties under the U.S. Constitution to provide adequate defense counsel to all Maine residents.
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PublishedApril 21, 2022
Our View: Maine lawmakers missed chance to fix indigent legal aid
While the state clings to its unique criminal defense setup, people are being denied their constitutional rights.
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PublishedApril 19, 2022
Pleas for help for legal services for low-income Mainers appear to be gaining little traction in the Legislature
None of the legislative proposals introduced this year to improve the Maine Commission on Indigent Legal Services made it into a supplemental budget passed by the Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee last week.
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PublishedMarch 6, 2022
‘How much of this am I supposed to take?’: Low morale and pay are driving attorneys from indigent legal services
About 150 attorneys have stopped taking court appointments since December 2020.
Maine Commission on Indigent Legal Services
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